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College offers online course on Yukon First Nations

Yukon College has unveiled an online version of one of its popular First Nations courses. Yukon First Nations 101 is a four-hour course made up of five modules.

Yukon College has unveiled an online version of one of its popular First Nations courses.

Yukon First Nations 101 is a four-hour course made up of five modules.

It’s intended to benefit people who want to have a better understanding of Yukon’s First Nations, said Joanne Lewis, executive director of the Northern Institute of Social Justice.

“There is a growing interest in Yukon First Nations history and culture training online,” she added.

The modules are history, heritage and culture; governance; residential schools; contemporary topics; and world views.

Each module contains a quiz at the end, and a 100 per cent mark is necessary to move on to the next.

In the past, the institute has partnered with the college’s First Nations Initiative department to create a two-day program for frontline workers and correctional officers.

After that, a shorter one-day course was developed along the same lines. Over 90 per cent of Yukon College’s staff have taken the course, Lewis said, and it’s mandatory for students who want to graduate from a credit program.

Over the years they noticed a growing demand for the course to be offered online, Lewis explained.

“I think it can benefit businesses, organizations, non-profits, government departments and individuals,” she said.

“There is more and more desire from people to build good relationships so they can better navigate the territory in which we live.”